Year in Review
What a wild, unprecedented, and stressful year it has been. If you had asked me what was in store for 2020 last December, a global pandemic would not have been my answer. Words like "social distancing" and "quarantine" weren't even in my vocabulary a year ago. Who else uses "pivot" way too much in conversation?
Somehow we made it to the end of the year. It's easy to focus on the many negative aspects of 2020, but I’d like to reflect on this year's positives, both personally and professionally.
Additional time to focus on my business: With more time at home, I've dedicated more time than ever before to growing my private practice. In addition to increasing the number of kiddos and families I serve, I've also allocated additional time to marketing, learning about LLC formation, continuing education, blogging, developing my website, and connecting with other private practitioners in the city. It’s been the most amazing learning experience!
Confidence to branch out: For the past 18 months, I worked 3 jobs. While growing Anna Ollinger Speech Therapy, I also worked as a full-time SLP at a private school and worked as a per-diem SLP at a NY hospital. In November, I was offered a part-time position in a pediatric outpatient hospital setting, which allowed me to allocate 3 full days to my private practice. While nerve-wracking to leave my full-time job in the midst of a global pandemic, I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity and time to grow my private practice further while staying connected to a medical institution.
Resilience: This year has brought about its fair share of challenges as well as countless emotions. In the face of adversity, the families I work with have shown just how resilient they all are. I’m amazed at how they’ve juggled parenting, working from home, and making virtual learning and therapy successful. If you’re one of my families reading this - I still don’t know how you do it all, but you inspire me with your commitment to your kiddos!
Discovering a new therapy delivery method: While some SLPs have served kiddos via teletherapy for years, I had no experience with teletherapy prior to the pandemic. As a teletherapy newbie, I invested countless hours in learning how to carry out effective remote therapy sessions. I still can’t believe I served my entire caseload via teletherapy until September! While I prefer seeing my kiddos and families in person, teletherapy has so many benefits I hadn’t previously considered. Not only does teletherapy keep everyone safe, but it allows me to serve kiddos in many different geographic areas. Transitioning to teletherapy has challenged me in so many ways, but I firmly believe I'm a better therapist as a result.
Learning to be flexible: Nothing went according to plan this year! As a person who likes to have everything planned out, this was really hard for me to accept. My husband and I planned 6 different variations of our 09/05/20 wedding - none of which went as planned! This year was a learning experience to roll with the punches, be patient when plans inevitably get cancelled, and spend less time worrying about things out of our control.
Appreciation & gratitude: Last but not least, this year has allowed me to appreciate what matters most and understand just how much I took for granted prior to the pandemic. As we roll into a new year, I’m hoping to practice more gratitude for both the big and small things.
I’d love to hear from you on your 2020 silver linings!